Papua New Guinea Elementary Teacher Education: Mixed Mode Teacher Training for 16 000 Village Teachers

Abstract

Ensuring a suitable supply of teachers in a climate of major structural and curriculum reform is not an easy task. It is even more difficult when a teacher education program is being developed simultaneously with the implementation of a new education program. Add to this the challenge of empowering communities to become active contributors in curriculum development and teacher education activities. This paper describes a model of teacher education developed in Papua New Guinea to meet these challenges. It is a cost-effective model which provides an immediate supply of teachers and involves communities in the process. The paper highlights contextual aspects of the teacher education curriculum, assessment processes and facilitation of training activities. The content of the paper is organised into four sections. Presented in the first section, as a background to the paper, is a brief history of Papua New Guinea's education system. This is followed by a description of the Education Reform (including the new Elementary Education Program), as a backdrop to a discussion on the Elementary Teacher Education Program in the third section. Some emergent issues are presented as challenges in the fourth section.